Stathis Papaioannou wrote:
On 05/07/07, Heartland <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
...
But different moments of existence in a single person's life can also
be regarded as different instances. This is strikingly obvious in
block universe theories of time, which are empirically
indistinguishable from linear time models precisely because our
conscious experience would seem continuous in either case. The same is
the case in the MWI of QM: multiple instances of you are generated
every moment, and while before they are generated you consider that
you could equally well "become" any of these instances, after they are
generated all but one of the instances become "other". This time
asymmetry of self/other when it comes to copies is mirrored in
duplication thought experiments, where before the duplication you can
anticipate the experiences of either copy but post-duplication the
copies will fight it out among themselves even though they are
identical. ...
FWIW, the theories are time symmetric. Not only will you be all of your
possible futures, but you have also been all of your possible pasts.
And if the universe that isn't measured doesn't "know" how it actually
operates... i.e., YOU can't properly assert how the universe beyond your
light cone operates, then at any particular instant, let's say in any
particular light-foot, only the things happening within that foot (about
the size of a brain) have genuine reality. Now a light-foot is approx 1
nano-sec., so you won't notice much during that period, but if you're
concerned about absolute reality, then there is a lot of justice in
solipsism...experimentally provided evidence. Of course, that evidence
may have happened by coincidence in the particular universe in which
your consciousness is residing.
This is just as reasonable, and as silly, as presuming that we are
living in a simulation. Our best evidence is our best evidence, and
that's all we can operate on. Certainty is not available for anyone who
wants to really understand what is going on.
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